System and method for providing routing, mapping, and relative position information to users of a communication network

ABSTRACT

A system and method providing real-time position information of one party to another party by utilizing a conventional telecommunication network system (e.g., the telephone network, a mobile telecommunications network, a computer network, or the Internet). The present invention allows a caller and a receiver of a telephone call to provide to and receive from each other position information related to the caller and/or receiver&#39;s location, including address information, GPA coordinates, nearby fixed locations (e.g., a parking structure), etc. The present invention allows a caller and receiver to retrieve routing instructions or maps for travelling to/from one another. A party may locate the position of another party via entry of the other party&#39;s unique identifier (e.g., a phone number of the other party&#39;s mobile phone). The position information of a party may be concurrently delivered to another party&#39;s computer terminal whereby the other party can process the information in further detail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/194,518filed Jul. 11, 2002, which in turn claims priority from U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/305,975 filed Jul. 17, 2001, whichapplications are specifically incorporated in their entirety byreference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to location and navigational systems and to thedetermination of local and remote position information in ad-hoclandline and wireless systems, including the utilization of uniqueidentification addresses, such as telephone numbers or Internet Protocol(IP) addresses, for such purposes as providing real-time locationinformation, maps, routing, and direction finding.

2. Description of the Related Art

Navigational systems, defined as systems that provide a unit's localposition and a way of planning a course around the unit's localposition, sometimes to a remote position, such as in-vehicle navigationssystems do, are well know in the art. Typically, an in-vehiclenavigation system consists of a display screen, processing unit, storageunit, and user input mechanism. The storage system typically contains,for example, maps and travel information used for navigational purposes.Travel information may include such items as points of interest, localrestaurants, theaters, municipality locations, and the like.

Determining a local position in a navigation system has typically beendone by integrating or connecting Global Positioning System (GPS)technology into the local navigational system. New positioningdetermination systems include network-assisted wireless locationsystems, such as TOA (Time-of-Arrival), and network assisted GPS systemsfor determining the local navigation system's position. The unit'slocation is then displayed on the device and is available for variousapplications, such as in the case of a commuter seeking the shortestroute to a location in a specific area or a user wanting to find thenearest gas station.

Destination locations are typically determined by manually accessingstored information from a local database or navigational informationstorage system, such as a DVD disc or CD-ROM discs. Location informationis found by searching through categories of information until thedesired location is found, or alternatively, by cross referencingtelephone numbers with addresses by means of the local storage system.Conventionally, numerous discs, or even numerous sets of discs, arerequired to provide adequate detailed geographic coverage, includingaddress and telephone information about a given metropolitan area. Thatis, conventional in-vehicle navigation systems require that an extensivecollection of storage discs be carried within the vehicle. Additionally,prior art DVD and CD-ROM disc based systems require periodic updating.That is, even after a user has purchased a set of discs, new replacementdiscs must be acquired, for example, as new roads and points of interestinformation are updated.

As an additional drawback, some navigation systems that do not have thestorage capability, such as wireless PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant)or typical cell phones, are not able to implement cross referencing oftelephone numbers to addresses locally due to the large memory andstorage size requirements of such an operation and low computationalpower of the devices. Furthermore, since most businesses and individualscan change their telephone numbers numerous times while at their currentaddress determining destination locations from telephone numbers on alocally-stored database inherently causes the information to be out ofdate and inaccurate. These and other changes, such as a new telephoneline or an area code change, would invalidate the current version oflocally-stored DVD or CD-ROM disc information. As a further drawback,mobile navigation devices and stationary landline computing devices arenot always associated with telephone numbers, but rather InternetProtocol (IP) addresses or the like.

Convention art systems are typically incapable of obtaining positioninformation over dynamically-configured connections such as, forexample, current fleet tracking systems that require predefined userand/or device configurations before the transfer of position informationis possible. Current systems for determining the location of numerousmobile navigation devices typically require users to register eachdevice's network address, or the like, into a database. These types ofsystems typically have user/asset account creation procedures that arestatic and not dynamic. Each remote unit, which has access to itscurrent position information from a connected positioning device orother positioning means, has an application that responds to a requestfor position information from a centralized server. These systems areviable options for organizations that must govern the tracking of assetsthat belong to the organization. However, should an outside system orindividual desire to track another organization's asset for a shortperiod of time and for one time only, the organization must then providethe network address of that asset as well as possibly providingpermission to the outside organization or individual for the duration oftheir tracking needs. Once the permitted tracking has been accomplished,the system must shut down the outside account and possibly change thenetwork address for security purposes. Additional security measures maybe necessary to disable access by the outside user if the system has afirewall or other network security system in place.

Thus, a need exists for a system that determines local and/or remoteposition information which does not require an extensive collection ofDVD or CD-ROM discs, which is able to provide location and destinationaddress or position information given a telephone number, and which isup-to-date and reliable and can be accessed via a networked onlineserver(s). Additionally, the need exists for a system that determineslocal and/or remote position information of devices that are not alwaysassociated by telephone numbers, but IP addresses or the like, and whichcan obtain such position information instantaneously and share it, bymeans of authentication and authorization protocols, without requiringany prior configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved systemfor obtaining real-time remote and/or local position information invarious environments for a plurality of purposes, such as mapping,routing, and direction finding.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forentering a telephone number by various means such as by using numeric,alphanumeric, speech-enabled interface, or software ApplicationInterface (API), or the like, for the purpose of determining positioninformation associated with the telephone number by searching anetworked database.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a methodfor entering a unique identification token, such as an e-mail address,that can be used on a networked server system utilizing authenticationand authorization procedures, in order to determine position informationand to pass that information between a plurality of unique users orapplications on various devices. The duration of the positioninformation transfer can be governed by a defined transfer period thatcan be set prior to the start of the transfer or at any time thereafter.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an alternative formof Caller-ID (Map Caller-ID) to a local computing telephone device fordisplay of the caller's position information. Alternatively, usinganother computing device, a caller's position information is transferredto a predefined local computer, via the Internet, telephone, or wirelessnetwork, and the position information to a caller is displayed on acapable viewing device identified and configured by the destinationtelephone user. This position information transfer is done utilizingauthentication and authorization procedures or telephone-to-positioninformation correlation procedures for caller identification.Additionally, similar information containing Map Caller-ID informationabout the destination telephone number can be transferred to theoriginating caller.

It is a further object of this invention to provide the calculation ofposition and route information, such as driving directions, as well asthe ability to provide azimuth, elevation, altitude, altitudedifference, line-of-sight (LOS) distance, and curved earth LOS distancemeasurements, between the local and remote positions calculated from theposition information obtained using the methods previously described.

It is a further object of this invention to enable a local device, suchas a wireless telephone or PDA, to acquire local or remote positioninformation through the methods described above, and to pass any or allof that information to an additional navigation or computing device,such as an in-vehicle navigation system or a mobile computer, in orderfor that additional navigation or computing device to make better use ofthe acquired position information, such as for improved routecalculation and/or improved display. This passing of information to anadditional device can occur via another (or same) wireless, infrared ordedicated wired connection.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide means fordownloading a predefined set of data containing telephone numberscorrelated to position-specific information, such as latitude andlongitude coordinates address information, and/or map information ofvarying size and resolution, from a networked server to a mobile device.The data transfer can occur via a wireless link, such as a cellulartelephone or Bluetooth connection, via an infrared connection, or via adedicated wired connection, such as a serial or USB connection. Theinformation contained in the batch transfer consists of either a subsetof or the entire dataset stored on the networked server. The data batchtransfer can also employ geographical boundary restrictions. The datacan be updated incrementally, when differences between the local andnetworked server's database is found, or when necessary, such as when amobile system expects to travel out-of-range of its expected wirelesscoverage zone (as initiated by a push or pull architecture With theonline networked server) and data updates are obtained for the region(s)where wireless connectivity will not be available.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide theseaforementioned capabilities on various forms of devices, such ascomputing devices, telephone (both wired and wireless) devices, anddevices with voice-over-IP (VoIP) capability.

These and other objects are met by the position determination, mapping,and routing system disclosed herein that assist the user, or a softwareapplication, in determining local and/or remote position(s) by using anonline database and/or networked authentication and authorizationconnection server. There are three primary cases that apply to thisinvention: 1) landline-to-landline systems, 2) landline-to-mobilesystems, and 3) mobile-to-mobile systems. The objective of each of thesesystems is the same, to determine either or both of the local and remotedevices' position information.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, for alandline-to-landline application, such as a call made between twostandard telephones, a user can dial a telephone number to a remotedevice. The act of dialing the telephone number to another remotelandline telephone, such as a residential telephone, triggers thetransfer of position information, such as in the form of a map, toeither one or both of the local and/or remote telephone devices. If thelocal and/or remote telephone devices do not incorporate a display unit,the position information can be routed to an adjacent computing and/ordisplay device, such as a personal computer or cable television's settop box, that is connected to a network, such as a telephone or wirelessnetwork or the Internet. In this case, users who are initiating orreceiving the telephone calls have their local telephone numbers storedinto a database that resides on a secure network. Once the user haslogged on to the personal computer via authentication and authorizationprocedures, any call that originates or is destined to their telephonenumber can identify the position of the other landline telephone number,based on predetermined privacy settings associated with the otherlandline telephone number. Alternatively, the user placing the call canobtain similar information about the destination telephone number.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, for alandline-to-mobile application, such as a call made between a standardtelephone and a wireless telephone, a user (or application) can dial atelephone number to a remote location. In one embodiment, if a user of amobile telephone dials or specifies a landline telephone number, such asa business telephone number, the system would correlate the businesstelephone number to position-relevant information, such as addressinformation and latitude and longitude coordinates. If the mobiletelephone is connected to a position determination system, the mobiletelephone would be able to provide navigational information, such asroute information in the form of real-time driving directions, or else amap and address of the destination telephone number can be displayed onthe mobile telephone.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, for themobile-to-mobile application, which is slightly similar to alandline-to-mobile application, position information can be obtained invarious embodiments. In one embodiment, if a mobile device userspecifies a telephone number of another position-enabled mobile device,the system would query the remote mobile device and verify its privacysetting. If there are no privacy settings, the system would request theposition information from the remote mobile device and forward it backto the local mobile device. The local mobile device would then be ableto navigate in real-time to the remote mobile device. In anotherembodiment, the destination remote mobile device receiving the telephonecall obtains the position information from the calling local mobiledevice, based on permission settings of the calling local mobile device,for the performance of various operations, such as mapping andcalculating driving directions. In this case, the calling local mobiledevice has privacy settings that determines the period of the positiontransfer to the destination remote mobile device. The period setting canbe set for the duration of the call or for a predetermined length oftime, and the position transfer can be terminated by the calling orreceiving device at anytime. The calling local mobile device can alsochoose not to reveal its local position to the destination remote mobiledevice for privacy purposes at anytime and can conversely enableposition transfer permissions at anytime and for any period of time oras long as the call is active.

In order to determine the position information of a remote landline orwireless device in order to obtain driving directions to that device orother related information about that device, in one embodiment, a usercan initiate a position request by entering a unique identificationtoken, such as an e-mail address. The remote user that is logged on to awireless or landline position-enabled computing device is verified bythe networked server's authentication and authorization protocolprocedures. The server queries the remote party of the position requestfor permission on whether the position request can be granted based oncriteria such as duration of request. If granted, both parties haveaccess to each other's position information, which can be used forreal-time driving directions or collaboration purposes. Once a userrequests to terminate the transfer, either after a pre-defined timeperiod ends or abruptly due to manual intervention by either party, theposition transfer is preferably terminated by the system. In anotherembodiment, each device has privacy settings that allow the device toprevent or limit other calling devices from obtaining positioninformation. These privacy settings can include allowance of positioninformation transfers only when a voice or video connection isestablished and/or only with the device owner's permission. Othersettings may include allowing any remote device to request positioninformation for any specified amount of time.

Wireless and/or landline devices are not always suited to post-processthe local and remote position information obtained from some of themethods previously described. In one embodiment, a wireless telephonethat obtains both local and remote position information can pass theobtained position information to another device which can better processand/or display the data. This is applicable to current wireless phonesthat have limited resources, such as a small display area, lowprocessing capability, limited memory, and short battery duration, incontrast to an in-vehicle navigation system that typically has anabundance of these resources. It is therefore advantageous andconvenient, since most in-vehicle navigation system do not posseswireless capability, for the wireless telephone to pass the remoteand/or the local, position information to the in-vehicle navigationsystem for processing and display of the route and map information. Inthis embodiment, the connection between the wireless telephone andin-vehicle navigation system can be established via a wirelessconnection, such as a Bluetooth connection, an infrared connection, or awired connection such as a serial or USB cable.

Mobile devices do not always have access to a networked server forobtaining the latest updated database information, such as when wirelesshardware access is not possible or when there is a lack of wirelessnetwork Coverage. For this reason, another embodiment of the presentinvention provides a means to download batches of position informationwhile the mobile device is connected using, for example, a wireless,infrared, or wired connection to the online networked database server,such as, for example, a mobile device connected to a PC as a conduit tothe Internet and thus connected to the online networked database server.This can apply to wireless devices that have a predefined wirelesscoverage chart stored internally for the purpose of determining when adevice is near the boundary of wireless coverage. If the mobile deviceis near such a boundary, the device can request, or pull, data from theonline server that is necessary until the device is within the expectedwireless coverage again. Alternatively, the system would correlate themobile device's position to a wireless coverage chart, and upon aboundary edge, the system would send, or push, data for the area wherethere is no wireless coverage from the online server to the mobiledevice. In another embodiment, a mobile device, such as an in-vehiclenavigation system, prior to leaving for a destination would download abatch of information for a specific geographical region from an onlinenetworked database server, since the car might not have Wide AreaNetwork (WAN) access, such as a mobile Internet cellular telephone withInternet access would. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle navigationsystem preferably downloads the information from either a wireless,infrared, or wired connection to a networked online server. This datatransfer can be initiated from various public points, such as, forexample, a car garage or a gas station with a wireless networked-enabledhub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates how a typical landline-to-landline connection can beestablished using a plurality of different telephone and/or computingdevices.

FIG. 2 illustrates how a typical landline-to-mobile connection can beestablished using a plurality of different telephone and/or computingdevices.

FIG. 3 illustrates how a typical mobile-to-mobile connection can beestablished using a plurality of different telephone and/or computingdevices.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a Map Caller-ID indicator on acomputing device display unit or television display.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a Map Caller-ID indicator and a displaywindow detailing a plurality of various possible features utilizing theposition and/or address location information of the remote caller andlocal device or person that is called.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of using a mobile telephone to obtainposition information of the remote device and possibly the localdevice's position information and then pass that information to anothermore capable processing and/or display device such as an in-vehiclenavigation system via some form of wired, wireless, or infraredconnection to process and/or display the data.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of using a wireless connection to downloada set of correlated telephone-to-address and/or position datasetinformation when a wireless connection is not possible or unnecessary.

FIG. 8 illustrates several predefined wireless coverage areas overlaidwith a driving route that extends within and outside the wirelesscoverage areas.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a standard telephone and an advancedtelephone device with an integrated display unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

The various embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 1-9. In the landline-to-landline example, asillustrated in FIGS. 1-9, a user places a telephone call from a standardtelephone 5 and 54 to a destination telephone, such as another landlinetelephone 8 and 55. The landline standard telephones are typicallyconnected to the telephone network 2 through a dedicated landlineconnection 9 a and 9 b. The telephone number that is dialed is known tothe telephone network 2. When a standard telephone 5 and 54 is used toplace a telephone call the telephone network 2 updates the onlinedatabase and application server (ODAS) 3 with the originating anddestination telephone numbers. In one embodiment this is typically doneusing a signaling system 7 (SS7) architecture via a connection 10 to theODAS 3. The destination telephone 8 and 55 has an extended form ofCaller-ID, such as consisting of a display, a processing unit, and aMODEM. This extended form of Caller-ID shall be denoted as MapCaller-ID, since it provides remote caller position information, and mayinclude local address position information. In this embodiment MapCaller-ID works similarly to Caller-ID since a modem message istypically sent between the first and second rings over the dedicatedlandline connection 9 b to the destination telephone 8. The differenceis that Map Caller-ID includes additional position information fields ofvarious formats, and can include map information at varying resolutionsof both the originating and destination telephone number's locations.Typical Caller-ID is sent from the telephone network exchange 2 to thesubscriber telephone 8 in one of many different formats and methods,depending on telephone carrier provider and/or region (i.e., USA,Finland, Netherlands, Japan, etc.).

In one embodiment the display unit on the destination telephone 8 candisplay the caller's name, telephone number, address, and can provide amap illustration of varying resolutions configured by the user throughthe telephone network 2. Additionally, the telephone 8 can provide routeand driving direction information between the originating telephonenumber's location 5 and the destination telephone number's location 8.The ODAS 3 determines the destination telephone's 8 position informationby performing a reverse telephone number lookup, thus retrieving bothgeographical and address information of the called telephone 8associated with its telephone number. This information is sent to thetelephone network 2 to be incorporated into the Map Caller-ID dataformat.

Additionally in FIG. 1, an advanced telephone 8 and 55 can establish acall with a standard telephone 5 and 54. Both telephones are typicallyconnected to a telephone network 2 by means of a dedicated landlineconnection 9 a and 9 b. Since a typical standard telephone device 5 and54 is incapable of displaying position information or decoding andprocessing the data from the telephone network 2, an accompany devicecan be used to facilitate such requirements, such as, for example, apersonal computer (PC) 23 a or Smart Television (TV) 23 b as shown inFIG. 4.

In one embodiment, a Smart TV consists of a television with anintegrated or attached cable television's set-top box, such as WebTV orScientific Atlanta set-top commercial units. When a telephone device 8dials a destination telephone 5 number, the number is typically sent tothe telephone network 2 by means of a landline connection 9 b. In thisembodiment, the destination telephone 5 is not an advanced telephone 55capable of decoding and displaying the Map Caller-ID information sent bythe telephone network 2 over the dedicated landline connection 9 a aspreviously described. Therefore, in order for the destination telephone5 to have access to the Map Caller-ID information, it must be sent to anaccompanying device 6, such as a PC 23 a or Smart TV 23 b, that iscapable of displaying and processing the Map Caller-ID information.These devices, PC 23 a or Smart TV 23 b, typically have data connectionsin place that provide Internet connections, such as dial-up, DSL, Cable,or ISDN connections to the Internet. In this embodiment, the PC 23 a orSmart TV 23 b have a dedicated (i.e., always enabled) connection to theInternet via a DSL or Cable TV connection 14 to the subscriber'sInternet Service Provider (ISP) 4. In another embodiment, the connection14 to the device 6 can be a wireless connection, such as a CDMA, TDMA,or GSM wireless data connection.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when a telephone 8 dials a destinationstandard telephone 5, the destination telephone number is sent over thededicated landline connection 9 b to the telephone network 2. The ODAS 3is sent both the originating and destination telephone numbers via thetelephone network connection 10. In another embodiment, accompanyinginformation, such as user identification information associated witheach telephone number is also sent to the ODAS 3. The ODAS 3 is alsoconnected to the Internet, Intranet or Extranet 1 that is connected tothe ISP 4, which is connected to the PC 23 a or Smart TV 23 b by adedicated connection 14. The ODAS 3 is preferably notified that atelephone call is being established by the telephone network 2. Includedin this notification is the telephone number and user identificationinformation for both the originating and destination telephone numbers.In this embodiment, every telephone account user has a username andpassword for the ODAS 3. When the ODAS 3 is notified from the telephonenetwork 2 that a telephone call is being established, the ODAS . 3correlates both the origin and destination telephone users'identifications to verify if the user is signed-on to the ODAS 3 usingauthentication and authorization protocols. These authentication andauthorization protocols establish that a user is genuine and verify thelevel of authority each user is granted, such as for differentiatingservices provided by the ODAS 3. These protocols also provide presencecapability by notifying the ODAS 3 that a particular user is signed-onto the system on a particular device, such as the PC 23 a or Smart TV 23b.

After the telephone network 2 has notified and sent the ODAS 3 all ofthe appropriate information, the ODAS 3 validates that the usersassociated with the origin and destination telephone numbers aresigned-on to the ODAS 3. In this embodiment, only the user of thedestination telephone number is signed-on to the server 3, but this canalso apply to the user of the originating telephone number. After thesystem has verified that the destination telephone number user issigned-on, the ODAS 3 sends a notification to the device 6 that the useris signed-on. In this embodiment, this information is typically sent tothe Internet, Intranet or Extranet 1 through a dedicated connection 11and then is connected to the user's ISP 4 which is also connected to theInternet, Intranet or Extranet 1 by a dedicated connection 13. In thisembodiment, the ISP has a dedicated connection 14 to the end device 6,thus the ODAS 3 has a pathway to the end user's device 6, such as the PC23 a or Smart TV 23 b.

In this embodiment, the notification appears on the user's displaydevice 6 just prior or during the ringing or notification that thetelephone has an incoming telephone call. In one embodiment, the display24 (FIG. 4) of the user's device shows that he or she is signed-on andcan have numerous miscellaneous window(s) 25 open at the time the MapCaller-ID notification window is activated. The Map Caller-IDnotification window 26 typically contains only the originating useridentification and telephone number, but may also contain mapinformation of varying resolution. In one embodiment, the user may use amouse icon 28 to activate the original notification window 26 to accessadditional information. In this embodiment, if the user does notactivate the original notification window 26 for additional information,the notification window 26 will disappear after a predefined timeperiod. After the notification window 26 has been activated by the mouseicon 28, which is controlled by the user, the notification window 26closes and a new information window 30 appears.

In one embodiment, this new information window 30 is a detailed MapCaller-ID information window of varying resolution displaying theoriginating position information, such as a map location 33 of thecaller, and the user's location position information, such as a maplocation 34 of the destination telephone number. The window 30 can alsoprovide a driving route 29 of varying resolution and driving directions35 of varying resolution. The window 30 can also display remote locationdirection heading information relative to local position information 31in addition to elevation, line-of-sight distances, and curved Earthline-of-sight distances. Additionally, the window 30 can display all ofthe identification information 32 of both the originating anddestination users, such as addresses and telephone numbers, and providedriving direction distance information for the optimal route based oncriteria such as time-of-day turn restrictions and highway or surfacestreet preferred usage.

In the landline-to-mobile example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a user of amobile device 18 a, such as a cellular telephone or wirelessvoice-enabled PDA, dials or inputs a telephone number. Since in thisembodiment, the destination telephone number is associated with alandline device 5, the system is able to utilize methods previouslydescribed in the landline-to-landline example for obtaining thedestination telephone number's relevant position information. Thedifference of this example from the previous lies in the informationtransfer path back to the originating mobile device.

In another embodiment, a user placing a telephone call from a landlinedevice 5, such as a standard telephone, to a mobile device 18 a, such asa cellular telephone or wireless voice-enabled PDA, dials or inputs atelephone number. The telephone number that is dialed from the landlinetelephone device 5 is known to the telephone network 2, and, in thisembodiment, is sent over a dedicated landline connection 9 c. Thetelephone network notifies the ODAS 3 that a telephone call is beingestablished by means of a dedicated connection 10. In anotherembodiment, this dedicated connection can be established via aconnection 12 to the Internet, Intranet or Extranet 1 and then by aconnection 11 to the ODAS 3. Once the ODAS 3 has been notified of allthe appropriate information, the system verifies, by using authorizationand authentication protocols, if the user of both the originating anddestination telephone numbers are signed-on to the system. For thisembodiment, the landline notification method is the same as previouslydescribed in the landline-to-landline example, except that the ODAS 3must request the location of the mobile device 18 a, since the devicecan always be moving, prior or during to the connection of the telephonecall.

The location of the mobile device is typically calculated by the mobiledevice 18 a by using an onboard positioning information device 19 a thatis connected to the mobile device, or by getting network-assistedposition information 21 a from the wireless network 22 through aseparate or same wireless connection, such as, for example,Time-Of-Arrival (TOA) algorithm techniques. The position information canalso be obtained from a combination of an onboard positioninginformation device 19 a, such as a GPS receiver, and a network-assistedapproach 21 a, such as having the network send ephemeris data to the GPSreceiver to help achieve faster time-to-fix techniques.

The mobile device location information can be provided only, due toprivacy settings, if the user configured the mobile device 18 a to allowposition information to while calls are received. In another embodiment,the privacy configuration also includes settings such as the option tonever send position information, or to send position information whilereceiving and/or sending calls, and whether the transfer of positioninformation should be allowed only for an instance or for a given periodof time. This provides the user the opt-in capability for positioninformation transfer.

In this embodiment, the mobile device Map Caller-ID notification is sentto the mobile device as a conventional Caller-ID message is sent, exceptadditional information is added to the original message. Thisinformation is sent to the telephone network 2 via a direct connection10, and then to the wireless network 22 via a direct connection 15. Thewireless network 22 is connected to the wireless device 18 a by means ofa wireless connection 20 a, such as a radio frequency (RF), optical, orinfrared connection, using various connection standards, such as CDMA,GSM, GPRS, WCDMA, or CDMA2000. In one embodiment, the Map Caller-IDinformation sent to the mobile device contains the originating positionand user identification information, since the local positioninformation 19 or 21 is already known. In another embodiment, the MapCaller-ID information is sent directly to the wireless network 22through a dedicated connection 17.

All of the Map Caller-ID information provided in the landline-to-mobileexample is similar to that provided in the landline-to-landline example,except the mobile device's 18 a position can change. In this embodiment,after the telephone call has been established, the mobile device, basedon its privacy settings, continually sends updated position informationto the ODAS 3. The ODAS 3 then sends the new updated positioninformation to users of both the mobile device 18 a and landline displaydevice 6. For this scenario, since the landline device positioninformation never changes, it is unnecessary to send updated positioninformation about the landline device to the mobile device 18 a.Providing real-time position information allows both the mobile device18 a and the landline display device 6 to display their real-timepositions on a map of varying resolution, and to route and displaydriving direction information as the mobile device changes its position.In this embodiment, this position information exchange can last for thelength of the telephone call or for a specified period of time which isdetermined by both the user of the originating mobile device 18 a andthe user of the landline destination 5 telephone.

In the mobile-to-mobile example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a userplacing a telephone call from a mobile device 18 b, such as a cellulartelephone or wireless voice-enabled PDA, dials or inputs a telephonenumber of another mobile device 18 c. In this embodiment, since both theoriginating and destination telephone numbers are associated with mobiledevices, the position information of each device can be updated in theODAS 3 prior to establishing the telephone call, depending on eachmobile device's 18 b and 18 c privacy settings. In another embodiment,peer-to-peer position information transfer is possible.

In this embodiment, all position information is allowed to betransferred for all scenarios on each mobile device 18 b and 18 c. Whena mobile device 18 b dials a telephone number, the position informationand destination telephone number is transferred to the wireless network22 by means of a wireless connection 20 b. The position information iscalculated, prior to the transfer, by means of an onboard positioninginformation device 19 b that is connected to the mobile device 18 b, orby receiving position information from the wireless network 22 using anetwork assisted positioning approach 21 b. The ODAS 3 receives both theoriginating and destination telephone numbers, users' accountinformation, and position information for both mobile devices 18 b and18 c. In one embodiment, the information from the mobile device 18 b isrelayed to the ODAS 3 through the wireless connection 20 b into thewireless network 22, and through the dedicated server connection 17. Inanother embodiment, the information from the mobile device 18 b isrelayed to the ODAS 3 through the wireless connection 20 b into thewireless network 22, through the dedicated connection 16 into theInternet, Intranet or Extranet 1, and then through the dedicatedconnection 11 to the ODAS 3. In another embodiment, the ODAS 3 requestsposition information from the destination mobile device 18 c. Thisrequest, after reaching the wireless network 22, is sent across thewireless connection 20 c to the mobile device 18 c.

The mobile device 18 c then preferably forwards its current positioninformation back to the ODAS 3. In one embodiment, prior to thedestination mobile device 18 c receiving the telephone call from theoriginating mobile device 18 b, the wireless network sends the positioninformation, obtained from the ODAS 3, in the form of a Map Caller-ID,as previously described. In this embodiment, both the originating anddestination mobile device receive the Map Caller-ID information. Themobile devices 18 b and 18 c continually send their updated positioninformation to the ODAS 3, when the position information has changedsignificantly as compared to the positioning error probability and asdetermined by the positioning technology or network configuration. TheODAS 3 periodically updates each mobile device with the other's positioninformation, thus providing real-time driving directions and routeinformation. In another embodiment, the position information transfercan be sent in a peer-to-peer configuration, thus circumventing the ODAS3.

A mobile or landline device can also request position information ofanother mobile or landline device by only specifying a telephone number,without having to initiate a telephone call. For a landline-to-landlineposition request, the specified telephone number is correlated to itsposition information using telephone information from a known databaseor sets of databases. In one embodiment, the online database thatcontains this information only includes users that do not have unlistedtelephone numbers. In another embodiment, users can define a group ofspecific users that have access to this information. This is alsoaccomplished by utilizing a group database and authorization andauthentication protocols to identify users that are permitted to accessthis information. When a mobile device's position information isrequested, the system, based on privacy settings, responds with theappropriate position information to the requesting user's device. Inanother embodiment, using the authorization and authentication protocolsa user can request the position of a mobile device, similarly torequesting the position of a landline device.

Using a mobile device 18 d, as illustrated in FIG. 6, it is possible toobtain the unit's local position and a destination position for thepurpose of navigation. However, a typical mobile navigational device 18d, such as a cellular phone or wireless PDA, does not possess all of thecapabilities or is not optimal for navigational purposes. Anaccompanying device 37, such as an in-vehicle navigational deviceusually installed in a motor vehicle 39 a, is better suited fornavigational displays and computations. In one embodiment, once themobile device 18 d has obtained either the local or remote positioninformation, via a wireless, such as a Bluetooth or 802.11b, connection,or a wired, such as a USB or serial, connection, or an infrared oroptical connection, it is sent by such connection 38 to a complementaryconnection interface device 36 that is connected to the navigationaldevice. A typical navigational device contains a processor 40, aposition determining system 41, a memory or storage device 42, a userinterface 43, and a display 44. In some embodiments, a user interface 43and display 44 are combined as a touch sensitive display. Once theposition has been obtained, as previously described, the navigationaldevice can utilize this position information to provide typicalnavigational functionality, such as routing, driving directions, mappedinformation, etc.

In another embodiment, the mobile device 18 d calculates all of thenavigational information internally by means of the ODAS 3 and passesthe information over to the another device 37, such as a mobilecomputer, via a compatible connection interface 36 only to betterdisplay the information. As the mobile device 18 d moves, or itsposition changes, position and/or data information is sent to thenavigational device 37, via the interface connection 36 for real-timeaccurate data updates on the navigational device 37.

One feature of this system is the use of a telephone number to obtainposition information associated with the telephone number from anetworked online server. The system utilizes an ODAS 3 to facilitatethis function, where the database is updated so that the data is alwaysaccurate and reliable. Thus if a mobile navigational device 45, such asa PDA, cellular telephone, or mobile computer, requirestelephone-to-position information capability, and it does not havewireless connectivity or will travel outside known wireless coverageregions, the mobile navigational device can download a batch of dataspecific to the geographical region where there is no wireless coveragefrom the ODAS 3 when appropriate, thus providing the most accurate andreliable data to the user or application requesting this information.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7 a motor vehicle 39 bcontains a mobile navigational device 45, such as a PDA, cellulartelephone, or mobile computer in the vehicle. Since the mobilenavigational device 45 does not have a wireless connection, it is notpossible to connect to the ODAS 3 while driving. However, the mobilenavigational device 45 has a USB port and can download the expectedgeographical region where the motor vehicle 39 b is expected to travel.In this embodiment, the mobile navigational device 45 can connect via aUSB cable 46 to a USB hub 47 that has a connection 48 to the Internet,Intranet or Extranet 1 which is connected 11 to the ODAS 3. The mobilenavigational device 45 then downloads all of the data necessary toperform the telephone number to position information calculations whileen route, insuring that the data is the most accurate possible for thisapplication.

In another embodiment, a motor vehicle 39 b contains a mobilenavigational device 45, such as a PDA, cellular telephone, or mobilecomputer, which has wireless connectivity. In this embodiment, themobile navigational device 45 can obtain telephone number to positioninformation from the ODAS 3 by connecting through the wirelessconnection 46 to the wireless network interface 47, which is thenconnected 48 to the Internet, Intranet or Extranet 1 which is thenconnected 11 to the ODAS 3. Having a connection from the mobilenavigational device 45 to the ODAS 3 is dependent on having wirelesscoverage. If the mobile navigational device 45 is not within a wirelesscoverage area, the mobile navigational device 45 can not obtain positioninformation given a telephone number because it does not have access tothe ODAS 3. Since wireless coverage is known in advance, it is possibleto store the wireless coverage charts on the ODAS 3 or on the mobilenavigational device 45. In one embodiment, the wireless coverage chartsare stored on the mobile navigational device 45 and updated whenchanged. Therefore when the mobile navigational device 45 is travelinginside known wireless regions, the mobile navigational device 45 willextrapolate its course to determine when it will travel outside ofwireless coverage. The system will download, or pull, all of the nearbydata information along the expected route from the ODAS 3 until thesystem is expected to be within a wireless coverage area again.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the mobile navigationaldevice 45 calculates a route 53 from a START position to a FINISHposition. The route 53 information is then correlated to an onlinewireless coverage chart that is stored on the ODAS 3. The onlinewireless coverage chart contains regions 49 and 50 and 51 where there iswireless coverage. The ODAS 3 calculates the regions 52 surrounding theexpected route 53 that have no wireless coverage. The ODAS 3 then sends,or pushes, the relational data that is not obtainable due to lack ofwireless coverage connectivity to the mobile navigational device 45.This insures that the data for telephone to position information isalways up-to-date, reliable, and accurate.

It should be noted that the present invention may be embodied in formsother than the preferred embodiments described above without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The specificationcontained herein provides sufficient disclosure for one skilled in theart to implement the various embodiments of the present invention,including the preferred embodiment, which should be considered in allaspect as illustrative and not restrictive; all changes or alternativesthat fall within the meaning and range or equivalency of the claim areintended to be embraced within.

1. A method of providing position information of a first user to asecond user of telecommunication network, said method comprising thesteps of: receiving first time user information, said first userinformation including at least one of a first user identificationinformation and a phone number information of the first user; receivingsecond user information, said second user information, said second userinformation including at least one of a second user identificationinformation and a phone number information of a second user; receivingfirst user position information, said first user position informationindicating a real-time location of the first user; accessing first userprivacy information, said first user privacy information indicating aprivacy setting of the first user, said privacy setting indicating aduration of time during which the first user grants permission totransmit the first user position information; determining whether acurrent time is within the duration of time indicated by the privacysetting of the first user privacy information; and if it is determinedthat the current time is within the duration of time indicated by theprivacy setting of the first user privacy information, transmitting thefirst user privacy information to the second user. 2-15. (canceled)